Prabowo Replaces Indonesia Disaster Chief as Fires and Emergency Funds Probe Put BNPB Under Pressure

New chief takes over during a fire emergency

President Prabowo Subianto appointed Lieutenant General Kristomei Sianturi to lead Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) on October 15, 2026, placing him in charge of a response involving about 70,000 personnel as forest and peatland fires spread smoke across parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

The appointment at the State Palace in Jakarta came one day after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named five suspects in an investigation into procurement using BNPB emergency funds. They include Bima Setyawan, an expert staff member and the younger brother of outgoing agency chief Suharyanto.

Kristomei, previously commander of Military Regional Command XXI/Radin Inten, was promoted from major general to lieutenant general on the day of his inauguration. Presidential Decree No. 113/P of 2026 formalized his appointment and Suharyanto's dismissal.

No official reason was given for replacing Suharyanto, who had led BNPB since November 2021. KPK has not named him as a suspect. Kristomei inherits two immediate responsibilities: keeping disaster assistance moving and cooperating with an investigation into how emergency purchases were arranged.

The president also appointed four deputy ministers, installed leaders of the National Peatland and Mangrove Management Agency (BPGMN), and changed senior military positions. The changes amount to Prabowo's eighth reshuffle since taking office on October 20, 2024, and his third in just over a month.

Kristomei promises a response measured in minutes

Kristomei said his first steps would be to consolidate BNPB's team, review its response procedures and visit areas affected by forest and land fires. Preventing deaths would take priority, he said.

Speaking after his appointment, the new BNPB chief set out the standard he wanted the agency to meet:

"Responsiveness must be measured in minutes, not hours. That is what we will evaluate going forward, so there are no more unnecessary casualties," he said.

His priorities extend beyond the fires in Kalimantan and Sumatra. Kristomei also identified volcanic eruptions and flooding, including in West Sumatra, as emergencies requiring attention.

BNPB would assess personnel, equipment and other resources available nationally and locally before deciding whether foreign assistance was needed. Kristomei also planned to examine Indonesia's Sipongi fire monitoring system and NASA satellite observations to assess burned areas and their effects.

For residents, the practical test will be how quickly that information leads to action. Satellite observations can help locate fires and estimate their spread, while local teams still need routes, water, pumps and safe conditions to reach them.

Smoke and water shortages complicate firefighting

Central Kalimantan shows the difficulties awaiting the new chief. By October 14, thick smoke had grounded civilian firefighting aircraft for about a week, while fires affected more than 500 hectares around Tanjung Puting National Park and surrounding parts of West Kotawaringin and Seruyan regencies.

Visibility around the orangutan habitat had fallen to about 500 metres. Regional military commander Major General Zainul Arifin told Prabowo that private aircraft operators required visibility of about 5,000 metres, ten times the distance then available.

Following the grounding of firefighting aircraft, ground crews faced scattered fires, swampy terrain and shortages of pumps. At an October 12 meeting, Prabowo promised 200 pumps, four times the 50 requested, and two billion rupiah for 200 groundwater drilling points.

Suharyanto told that meeting that 639.23 hectares remained ablaze across six priority provinces as of October 12, while nearly 130,000 hectares had burned cumulatively. The smaller figure described fires still burning at that point; the larger figure covered the accumulated burned area.

Environment Minister Jumhur Hidayat said on October 13 that declining fire intensity gave the government reason to expect the blazes could be extinguished within a month, possibly sooner. Kristomei's pledge of faster action now sits alongside that forecast and the continuing limits on aerial operations.

Five suspects face an emergency procurement investigation

KPK's investigation concerns alleged irregularities in buying goods and services using dana siap pakai, emergency funds available for immediate use during disasters. BNPB received an allocation of about 4.62 trillion rupiah in these funds for 2026.

Emergency procurement allows agencies to appoint suppliers directly so that urgent purchases can proceed quickly. KPK chairman Setyo Budiyanto said those purchases still had to follow regulations. Investigators were examining suspected arrangements between agency officials and private companies over the disbursement and use of funds.

The five suspects are Bima Setyawan; Gabriel Purwaka Sigit, a BNPB official responsible for procurement commitments; Richard Erlangga, another expert staff member; and private sector representatives Gery Prasetiawan and Syifa Nrika Ghifarian.

Investigators initially took 14 people for questioning during raids across Jakarta and surrounding areas on October 13. BNPB principal secretary Rustian was among them. He was released after questioning and remained a witness, according to KPK spokesperson Budi Prasetyo.

The case developed from the October 13 procurement raids into the naming and detention of five suspects on October 14. Later accounts put the cash seized at about 3.3 billion rupiah, alongside hundreds of grams of gold and cryptocurrency assets.

KPK had yet to establish the total amount allegedly misappropriated or identify the precise goods and services involved. It also had not said whether funds intended for the current forest fire response were involved.

BNPB pledges cooperation and an internal cleanup

Kristomei promised internal consolidation and a cleanup at BNPB while leaving the criminal investigation to law enforcement. Asked after his inauguration about the case, he stated:

"We will leave the matter entirely to law enforcement authorities to investigate. There will be no interference from BNPB," he said.

BNPB had already committed to providing investigators with records and access to information. Acting spokesperson Berton Panjaitan acknowledged disruption to the agency's work but said public services and disaster response operations would continue.

Setyo said investigators could seek testimony from Suharyanto if it was relevant and needed. He also said the investigation would focus on individual responsibility, regardless of family relationships.

Lawmakers called for closer examination of disaster spending. MP Abdullah, also known as Abduh, urged the State Audit Board to conduct a comprehensive audit of BNPB's finances. Such an audit would examine the agency's financial management, alongside the criminal investigation into particular people and transactions.

The agency must now supply information to investigators while maintaining emergency operations. For communities facing smoke, flooding or eruptions, continuity means assistance, equipment and public warnings must keep moving even as officials and procurement decisions come under scrutiny.

A new peat agency will focus on water

Prabowo appointed forestry professor Satyawan Pudyatmoko to head BPGMN and Major General Sriyanto as its deputy chief. Satyawan previously served as the Forestry Ministry's director general for natural resources and ecosystem conservation.

The new agency follows discussions between Prabowo and peatland and mangrove specialists at the presidential palace in late September. Its immediate plans connect the current firefighting emergency with work to reduce future fire risks.

Satyawan said the agency would restore peatland water conditions by identifying drainage canals and installing barriers to hold water back. Explaining the approach after his appointment, he said:

"We will restore the peatland to its wet condition by mapping canals and constructing canal barriers," said Satyawan.

Peat is soil formed from partly decayed plant material that accumulates in wet conditions. Keeping it wet is central to the agency's plan because drained, dry peat can burn. Canal barriers are intended to retain water in the landscape rather than allow it to drain away.

BPGMN plans to map approximately 500 peat hydrological units and prioritize those in critical condition. A hydrological unit is an area connected by the movement and storage of water. Mapping these areas helps planners consider where water flows across the landscape, rather than treating each administrative boundary as a separate water system.

Satyawan said the work would draw on specialists in peat hydrology, restoring vegetation and community economics. He also proposed crops suited to peat ecosystems, including sago and pineapple, so that protection efforts could support local livelihoods.

Sriyanto called for close monitoring of peat water levels and cited 40 centimetres as a threshold requiring action. His focus was early detection followed by analysis and forecasts, allowing agencies to act before conditions become harder to manage.

Regional haze adds diplomatic pressure

Malaysia's Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan said on October 12 that he would raise the haze issue at an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila in November. Smoke crossing borders has made Indonesia's fire response a concern for neighbouring governments as well as communities near the blazes.

Haze has disrupted flights, forced school closures and contributed to respiratory health problems across affected areas. Faster suppression and wetter peatlands address different parts of that problem: one deals with fires already burning, while the other aims to reduce the conditions in which fires can spread.

Wasisto Raharjo Jati, a political analyst at Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency, interpreted the leadership change as an effort to restore public confidence amid regional scrutiny. He linked the political pressure to both the continuing fires and the arrests at BNPB.

Kristomei's coordination plan involves ministries, regional governments, the military, police and local communities. He also called for central and regional regulations to work together and noted BNPB's coordination with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG).

About 70,000 personnel were already deployed against the fires. Kristomei's proposed review will therefore examine how existing people and equipment are organized, alongside whether additional help is needed. The November ASEAN meeting provides the next stated regional forum for discussion of the haze.

A commander with a communications background

Kristomei, 50, was born in Kotabumi, North Lampung, on May 6, 1976. He graduated from Taruna Nusantara High School in 1994 and the Indonesian Military Academy in 1997, specializing in infantry.

His operational assignments included commanding the 305th Airborne Infantry Battalion from 2013 to 2014 and serving as assistant for operations at the Bukit Barisan Regional Military Command from 2020 to 2022. He later led the Radin Inten command, covering Lampung and Bengkulu, from August 2025.

Several previous roles involved public information. He headed information operations at the Jayakarta Military Regional Command, led the Army Information Service from 2023 to 2024 and headed the Indonesian Military Information Center in early 2025. He also served as deputy governor of the Military Academy during 2024 and 2025.

Kristomei's international experience includes service with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), for which he received the UNIFIL Medal and Lebanon's Military Valour Medal. At BNPB, his responsibilities now cover coordination of disaster preparedness, emergency response and recovery across Indonesia.

The wider reshuffle and its timeline

Prabowo split the new deputy defence appointments between two portfolios. Air Marshal Yusuf Jauhari will oversee logistics, the defence industry and technology. General Richard Tampubolon will handle strategy, doctrine and force development.

Alim Setiawan Slamet was appointed deputy agriculture minister, while Maulana Bungaran became deputy minister of immigration and corrections. In the military leadership, General Tandyo Budi Revita became army chief of staff, replacing General Maruli Simanjuntak.

Maruli became deputy commander of the Indonesian military and concurrently head of the National Border and Remote Area Management Agency. Presidential Decrees Nos. 105/TNI/2026 and 106/TNI/2026 covered the military appointments and dismissals.

The changes followed two earlier reshuffles and several days of developments in the fire response and corruption investigation:

• September 14, 2026: Prabowo replaced finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa with his deputy, Suahasil Nazara.
• October 1: New foreign and industry ministers, coordinating ministers, and senior agency and police officials were appointed.
• October 12: Prabowo chaired a fire response meeting, while Malaysia announced plans to raise the haze at ASEAN.
• October 13: KPK apprehended 14 people in the BNPB procurement investigation.
• October 14: KPK named five suspects; Rustian was released and remained a witness.
• October 15: Kristomei took office alongside new deputy ministers, peat agency leaders and senior military appointees.

Kristomei's immediate agenda brings these developments together: review BNPB's operations, visit affected areas, cooperate with investigators and coordinate with the new peat agency. Communities experiencing the fires need both an effective emergency response and reliable management of the money intended to support it.

Key Points

• Prabowo appointed Lieutenant General Kristomei Sianturi as BNPB chief on October 15, 2026, replacing Suharyanto.
• About 70,000 personnel were deployed against fires affecting Sumatra and Kalimantan, with haze reaching neighbouring countries.
• KPK named five suspects in an emergency procurement investigation, including Suharyanto's younger brother, Bima Setyawan.
• Suharyanto was not named as a suspect. Rustian was released after questioning and remained a witness.
• Kristomei promised faster responses, an internal cleanup and cooperation with law enforcement.
• The new peat agency plans canal barriers and mapping of approximately 500 peat hydrological units.
• Malaysia plans to raise the haze at an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Manila in November.